OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2015. Net Asset Value per share stood at €17.11 as of 30 September 2015[2] after payment of a €0.50 per-share dividend in May. It was up 1% from 30 June 2015 (€16.95) and up 6.7% from 31 December 2014 (€16.04).

The third-quarter NAV rise derived from increases in the share prices of listed portfolio companies, essentially Altran and Albioma, while stock markets in general declined during the period. Only listed companies are revalued as of 30 September at their market price. Unlisted companies are revalued twice a year, on 30 June and 31 December.

NAV per share rose 9.8%, dividend included, over the first nine months of the year, owing to:

-   increases in the share prices of listed companies during the period, in particular Altran (up 32%) and GFI (up 10%);

-   increases in valuation multiples, essentially those of Amplitude Surgical and Capio following their IPOs in June;

-   good operating performance at portfolio companies (average EBITDA growth of 5.7%[3] over H1 2015).

Net Asset Value (IFRS shareholders' equity) as of 30 September 2015 was €624.9m[4], vs. €618.9m as of 30 June 2015 and €585.8m as of 31 December 2014.

€55.9m in nine-month divestment proceeds and revenue, including €31.8m in Q3

Divestment proceeds and revenue in the third quarter of 2015 amounted to €31.8m, bringing the total in the first nine months of the year to €55.9m, vs.€63.9m over the first nine months of 2014.

They derived essentially from the following sources:

  • €28m from the refinancing of Altrafin Participations' debt, i.e. 60% of the amount of the investment. Altrafin Participations is the holding company through which Altamir is a shareholder of Altran;
  • €3.2m in additional divestment of Amplitude Surgical and Capio following the exercise of the overallotment options in July.

€91.6m invested and committed over nine months, including €37.2m in Q3

During the third quarter of 2015, Altamir invested and committed €37.2m in six new international companies, bringing the total invested and committed since the start of the year to €91.6m, vs. €31.8m over the first nine months of 2014.

The new investments and commitments were as follows:

Via the Apax France VIII fund:

  • a commitment to invest €20m in two companies that will be acquired from the Altice group: Cabovisao, the second-largest cable operator in Portugal, with more than 900,000 homes passed and 200,000 subscribers and offering households pay TV, internet and fixed telephony; and ONI, one of the leading telecoms operators in Portugal offering services dedicated to corporate customers;

Via the Apax VIII LP fund:

  • €3.3m in RFS Holland Holding B.V. ("Wehkamp"), a leading online lifestyle department store in the Netherlands;
  • €2m in Idealista SA, the largest online real estate marketplace in Spain;
  • €0.9m in Ideal Protein, a Canadian company specialised in the development of proprietary weight-loss and wellness solutions;
  • a €4.3m commitment to invest in AssuredPartners, one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States;
  • a €4.1m commitment to invest in Fullbeauty Brands, the direct-to-consumer market leader in the US plus-size apparel market.
  • €2.6m in additional investments, in particular in Quality Distribution and Shriram City Union Finance.

33 portfolio companies

As of 30 September 2015, Altamir's portfolio was valued (IFRS basis) at €594.8m, vs. €605m as of 30 June 2015 and €543.5m as of 31 December 2014. Excluding commitments, it was made up of 33 companies (vs. 29 at 30 June and 25 at end-2014), including 26 unlisted (63% of portfolio value) and seven listed (Altran, Albioma, Amplitude, GFI, Capio, Chola and Shriram).

Portfolio companies pursued their acquisition strategies during the third quarter:

  • Altran announced the acquisition of SiCon Design Technologies, a fast-growing Indian engineering services company, specialised in semi-conductor design (500 employees).
  • Texa acquired Eurisk (€45m in revenue), thereby significantly strengthening its expertise in construction appraisal and making it a major loss adjuster in France (€170m in proforma revenue, 1,700 employees).

   Alain Afflelou acquired Optical Discount (€35m in sales), a franchise chain with 90 stores in France, Belgium and Morocco, thereby significantly expanding the low-cost side of the business (150 stores) and bringing its overall network to 1,300 stores.

Events since 30 September 2015

In October 2015, the funds advised by Apax Partners LLP acquired a 23.2% stake in Zensar Technologies Limited, a listed Indian company that provides technology services to leading global customers in the manufacturing, retail and high-tech industries.

In addition, two companies in the portfolio have carried out build-up operations:

  • Snacks D?veloppement, the specialist in savoury snacks, announced plans to acquire Sibell, a maker of crisps and snacks (€30m in sales). The expanded group will have sales of €130m, with five production sites and 510 employees in France's Vend?e and Bouches-du-Rh?ne d?partements.
  • The Belgian company Azelis, a pan-European specialty chemical distributor, signed an agreement to acquire KODA Distribution Group, the largest distributor of specialty chemicals in the US market, which will double its size.

Cash and commitments

As of 30 September 2015, Altamir's net cash position on an IFRS basis (excl. commitments) was €56.6m, vs. €33.4m as of 30 June 2015 and €70.1m as of 31 December 2014.

As of 30 September 2015, the Company had commitments to the Apax France VIII and Apax VIII LP funds of a maximum of €133.2m. Altamir also has a commitment (estimated at €10m) to co-invest alongside Apax France VII in the fund's existing holdings in proportion to its initial investments.

Lastly, Altamir has overdraft lines totalling €47m.